Par Bricole is a Swedish
Bacchanalian order society for men only, founded in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
on 15 May 1779 in Källaren Kejsarkronan at
Drottninggatan 6. The main sources of inspiration were the
Freemasons
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
and
Carl Michael Bellman's sayings about Bacchus.
The name Par Bricole comes from a French
billiards term, meaning "with bounce". Within the society, it is traditionally and a bit improperly interpreted instead as "by chance", actually "by detours", "indirectly", and is usually abbreviated "P.B."
Par Bricole's mother lodge is still in Stockholm and is housed in the order's "tribal house"
Bellmanhuset by Urvädersgränd. The order also has subsidiary lodges in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
(Göta Par Bricole), Vänersborg, Borås, Malmö, Jönköping, Sundsvall, and Örebro.
Prehistory
The first origin of the society was in a small circle of cheerful associates (among them Carl Israel Hallman), for whom the poet
Carl Michael Bellman preferred his parody-humorous Acts concerning the Order of Bacchus, as described in his poems in ''
Bacchi Tempel'' and his ''
Fredman's Epistles''. He seems in part to have intended to have fun both with the pursuit of titles and stars of the order as well as with Freemasonry's mysterious ceremonial nature. Numerous certificates suggest that Bellman established three "knighthoods" by 1774, from which Par Bricole immediately developed. However, the official existence of the society has usually been counted from 1779, when Olof Kexél was summoned and prepared the ritual for several new, higher, degrees. At the same time, Duke Charles of Södermanland (the future
Charles XIII) became the patron of the Order.
Members and lodges
Among the members of Par Bricole during the 18th century are such well-known figures as
Elis Schröderheim,
Nils von Rosenstein
Nils von Rosenstein (1 December 1752 — 7 August 1824) was a Swedish civil servant and propagator for enlightenment thinking. He served as tutor to the future King Gustav IV Adolf for eleven years (1784–1795) and as the first permanent secreta ...
,
Johan Henrik Kellgren
Johan Henrik Kellgren (1 December 1751 – 20 April 1795) was a Swedish poet and critic.
Biography
He was born at Floby in Västergötland (now part of Falköping Municipality, Västra Götaland County). He studied at the Royal Academy of Turku ...
,
Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna,
Bengt Lidner
Bengt Lidner (March 16, 1757 – January 4, 1793) was a Swedish poet, born in Gothenburg. His opera ''Medea'' was translated to English and played in England during his lifetime, but wasn't played in Sweden until 2004.
His father died when he w ...
,
Abraham Niclas Edelcrantz
Abraham Niclas (Clewberg) Edelcrantz (28 July 1754 – 15 March 1821) was a Finnish born Swedish poet and inventor. He was a member of the Swedish Academy, chair 2, from 1786 to 1821.
Edelcrantz was the librarian at The Royal Academy of Tur ...
, A.A. Stjerncrantz, Johan Magnus Lannerstierna, Olof Åhlström, Francesco Antonio Uttini, Christopher Christian Karsten, Carl Stenborg and Edouard Du Puy. Until his death, Kexél was master of ceremonies and Bellman was the first poet. 1799 takes the second period of the order with the establishment of new offices, among others the office of Grand Master. In 1801 a branch lodge was established in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
(Göta Par Bricole); since then, such have occurred in
Vänersborg (1839),
Borås
Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 66,273 inhabitants in 2010.
Geography
Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them the ...
(1860),
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
(1878),
Jönköping
Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland.
The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...
(1879),
Sundsvall
Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population.
History
Th ...
(1985) and
Örebro
Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...
(2017).
Early 19th century
In the early 19th century, the seriously mysterious, "higher" bricolerie threatened to take over, but from 1820 the words again took a happier turn, and "Nachspiel" or "after parties" were introduced. Among active members at this time are
Lars Hjortsberg
Lars Hjortsberg (22 November 1772 – 8 July 1843) was a Swedish stage actor. He belonged to the pioneer generation of elite actors of the Royal Dramatic Theatre and has, alongside Emilie Högquist, been referred to as the most famous Swedish a ...
, archbishop
Valerius
The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of th ...
, J.M. Stjernstolpe, J.V. Berger, J.H. Pettersson, Bernhard Crusell, Franz Berwald, Johann Franz Brendler, Andreas Randel, the Bellman singer Axel Arvid Raab, Lars Adolf Kinmansson, the poet
Fredrik August Dahlgren
Fredrik August Dahlgren (20 September 1816 – 16 February 1895) was a Swedish writer, playwright and songwriter.
Biography
Dahlgren was born in Nordmark parish in Värmland, Sweden. He was the son of Barthold Dahlgren, the manager of the mines ...
, Clas Livijn, Bernhard von Beskow, Johan Anders Björck, H.M. Munthe, Olof Strandberg and Pehr Westerstrand (Grandmaster 1832-1857). During the 1850s and 1870s, the
Royal Swedish Opera
Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Location and environment
The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...
's foremost singer took an active part in the order's activities.
Grandmasters
Among the recent grandmasters of the order are the surgeon Professor Carl Jakob Rossander (1892-1900) and the regimental doctor H. Sundberg (1910-1925). The current Grand Master is Henrik Mickos (since 2016). In 1829, Par Bricole celebrated its 50th anniversary, and on July 26 of the same year, Johan Niclas Byströms, who was paid for by the company, unveiled Bellman's bust at Bellmansro in Royal
Djurgården. Since then, Bellman's Day (July 26) has been celebrated annually there as a folk festival under the leadership of P.B. The order's feast days are also May 15 and Barbara's Day, December 4 (chosen by Bellman in honour of his grandmother, Barbara Klein; Barbara is usually glorified fantastically as a kind of
Dionysian
The Apollonian and the Dionysian are philosophical and literary concepts represented by a duality between the figures of Apollo and Dionysus from Greek mythology. Its popularization is widely attributed to the work ''The Birth of Tragedy'' by Fri ...
goddess, the "aunt" of all bricolists). In 1874, the order celebrated its 100th anniversary with a festive cantato by
Talis Qualis and
Ludvig Norman
Ludvig Norman (28 August 183128 March 1885) was a Swedish composer, conductor, pianist, and music teacher. Together with Franz Berwald and Adolf Fredrik Lindblad, he ranks among the most important Swedish symphonists of the 19th century.
Norman ...
.
The modern order
Par Bricole counts a large number of members united in their interest in the arts of speech, music and theatre. The
king of Sweden
The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...
stands as the protector of the order. The song plays a big role in the company. During its first half-century it was cultivated in the form of the company song; then this has been succeeded by the quartet and later the choir. Par Bricole has an excellent choir, and its leaders have been Frans Preumayr (1832–1853),
Eduard Brendler
Eduard Brendler (4 November 1800 – 16 August 1831) was a Swedish composer. He was born in Dresden, Germany but his family moved to Sweden when he was only a year old. He died before completing his romantic opera '' Ryno, or the errant knight ...
and (1853–1862)
Andreas Randel
Andreas Randel (6 October 1806 – 27 October 1864) was a Swedish composer and violinist. The overture to his ''The People from Vårmland'' was recorded by Kungliga Hovkapellet Stig Westerburg.
Randel got his last name from Ramdala parish; he ...
, who both composed the company's ceremonial choirs, during the 1860s
August Söderman
(Johan) August Söderman (17 July 1832 in Stockholm – 10 February 1876 in Stockholm) has traditionally been seen as the pre-eminent Swedish composer of the Romantic generation, known especially for his lieder and choral works, based on fol ...
, August Melcher Myrberg and Olle Strandberg, 1869–1880 Joseph Dente, 1880–91 Ludvig Ohlsson, and 1891–1915 Erik Åkerberg. The choir's conductors from the 1970s were Håkan Sund, Hans Lundgren and Hans Kyhle (1979–2007). Since 2010, the choir has been led by Ian Plaude.
References
Sources
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External links
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{{Carl Michael Bellman
Carl Michael Bellman
1779 establishments in Sweden
Society of Sweden
Bacchanalian fraternities